Healing Wounds
by prettylittleliar47
Summary: Mason goes off to war just after proposing to Alex and dies in action. Distraught and heartbroken, she turns to the person who's always been there for her, Justin. Will they admit their feelings or tiptoe around the fear of rejection forever? JALEX so incest warning.
1. Prologue

**(A/N: Ok, here's the prologue to the fanfic I'm working on. I wanna see what people think before I go any further. I've never done anything like this before, so I have no idea what I'm doing. So if I have this rated wrong or did something wrong please let me know.)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place  
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"Justin?" He could tell she had been crying, but that didn't change anything.

"What do you want Alex? I thought you didn't want me in your life anymore because I didn't like Mason? That's why you never talked to me after he came back. You hated me just because I didn't like that scroungy-"

"**Justin!**" She yelled, surprising him.

He stopped his rant. "**What!**"

"He's dead." She said simply.

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**(A/N: I know, really short but it's just a prologue. I love writing but I don't wanna put a ton of energy into something no one is gonna like. So review and tell me if you like it and want me to continue.)**


	2. Chapter 1: Surprise!

**(A/N: So I went back edited the earlier chapters. The dates should add up better and there's more details. I also changed the POV. It's third person now. Anything in italics is a thought. If I do write a point of view it's more so people don't get confused with the thoughts.)**

**Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended**

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Quiet, surprisingly quiet. It was so quiet ever since Mason had to ship off, and that was only a few weeks ago. She had no idea how she was going to survive this quiet for his entire year and a half deployment. _'Stupid Wizard Army! Why do they have to take any magical creatures? I thought it was the Wizard Army, not the Anything Magical Army. Urgh, this just sucks.' _

Alex was all alone dealing with this too. Harper's busy with school and when she's not busy with school she's with Zeke. She hadn't spoken to Justin since Mason came back. He still blamed Mason for Juliet. She guessed she couldn't really complain about that though, it was her fault that he wasn't talking to her.

"Alex? Honey, where are you?"

"Downstairs mom. And I've got a surprise."

A jolt of fear ran through everyone's hearts, they had no idea if this would be one of her pranks or not. But her mom went down anyway and the others followed, curiosity getting the better of them.

They all went downstairs to see what was going on. But the only one that made it all the way down was Theresa. When she got downstairs, she realized what the surprise was and stopped dead in her tracks.

Justin was right behind and was about to say something until he looked and saw what made his mother stop in the first place.

Alex's surprise was….Mason.

No one said anything, they just stood there with their mouths open. Trying to figure out if this was a dream or not and how it could possibly happen. They all came to the same conclusion, they had no idea what was going on.

Alex was the one to break the silence. "Someone say something."

Her mom was the first to speak from the group. "How? I thought he turned into a wolf forever."

"He did." Alex replied. "But I changed him back. I found a spell that reversed it."

Jerry's head shot up in recognition. "Alex! You performed a forbidden spell!"

"But I had to daddy. It was the only way to get him back." Alex pouted, clinging onto Mason for dear life.

Justin was the one who responded this time, and it wasn't for joy of Mason's return. "Why the hell would you do that Alex? How the hell could you do that? The Wizard Council might reverse it or come after you or take your powers or-"

"Justin!" He stopped rambling and looked at Alex. "What is wrong with you? I thought you'd be happy for me."

Justin's eyes lit up with a fury he never knew he had. "Yeah, I'm ecstatic. You get the mutt back and it's his fault that I lost Juliet."

Mason could tell something was about to happen and finally opened his mouth. "Justin," Mason spoke calmly as to not make Justin angrier. "I'm sorry about Juliet. If I could take it back, I would. But I can't, there's nothing you can do either."

"Right, I just have to stand here and listen to the guy that took the love of my life away from me who also broke my sister's heart. Excuse me for not bothering to care." He tried to storm away because he didn't want to hear this anymore, he didn't wanna see this anymore. But Alex wouldn't have that. She grabbed his arm, spun him around, and stood on her tiptoes to look him right in the eye.

She tried to stay calm as she spoke but you could hear the anger in her voice as she said through gritted teeth "Stop it Justin. This isn't fair. To Mason or me."

That put him over the edge. "Well excuse me if little Miss Alex Russo doesn't get her way for once. Sorry that I don't care about your feelings when you just stomp all over mine!"

It was Alex's turn to get mad. "What? Because you don't have Juliet? Justin you know I feel bad about that."

"This isn't just about Juliet" He hollered back.

"Then what is it?"

"Forget it, you don't care." Justin was about to leave when his sister said eight words that made his whole world fall apart.

"I hate you Justin! Stay out of my life!" Then she ran upstairs where Mason, her mother, and Harper who just stood there watching soon followed.

Jerry motioned for Max to go upstairs too, who obviously hadn't been paying attention to anything that had just happened. He went to turn around and talk to his son. But when he did, the sub shop door opened and slammed shut again. Justin was gone.


	3. Chapter 2: Phone Calls

**(A/N: Like I said, it's been revised so there's a few changes. Mainly me summarizing some lose ends that people might have had questions to.)**

**Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended**

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Thinking back on that day, she realized just how young she was. She showed that with what she said to Justin. And she was proving it now with whining about it.

She was only a year older but it felt like so much longer with all that had happened within that year. Alex told the Wizard Council about performing the forbidden spell and willingly gave up her powers. Max ended up deciding he didn't want to bother with magic anymore and started learning to take over the family business. Justin had arranged it that when he was to be given Max's powers Alex wouldn't know about it. Mason started senior year with Alex and Harper. He hadn't told her but he'd been seeing a recruiter for the Wizard Army. He was already signed up and being shipped off to boot camp a week after turning 18. With Mason gone Alex concentrated on school so she could graduate and be with Mason as soon as he came home. During a school art show Mr. Laritate had introduced Alex to a friend who owned an art gallery and she'd already sold some work. She had decided to just keep painting instead of going to college but was happy for Harper moving in Zeke and going to college. Mason came back from boot camp and aside from being more muscular, it was like her never left. Alex was happy and in love. Her and Mason had decided to start looking for a place. When Alex was given a big advance on a painting she was being commissioned for, they sprang for an amazing condo in Upper Manhattan. The next few months were sheer bliss. The Waverly Sub Shop was doing better than ever since Max had taken over. Jerry and Theresa were still working at the sub shop with Max but were a lot happier without the stress of being business owners. Harper was doing great in school, was making new friends, and she said things with Zeke were wonderful. Theresa told Alex that Justin was good, he called every weekend to let her know things were good. They still hadn't talked since Alex changed Mason back. Then Mason got word that he'd be going to fight in the war that had started between Wizards and The Angels of Darkness.

She couldn't take any more of the silence. She'd grabbed her cell phone and dialed Harper's cell. It went straight to voicemail, meaning it was off. She was hoping she just forgot to turn it back on after class and that she wasn't actually in class. She dialed the home number, it rang twice before someone picked up.

"Yello!" It was Zeke, which usually meant….

"Hey Zeke. It's Alex, is Harper there?" She bit her lip, kinda already knowing the answer.

"Aw, sorry Alex. You just missed her, she left for class just a few minutes ago. Do you want me to tell her you called?"

Alex sighed, she knew she wasn't there as soon as Zeke answered after already knowing that her cell was off.

"Ummm…No, that's alright. I was just looking for someone to talk to and thought she might be in."

"Alex?" He said it low, almost like he was upset. She waited for him to continue. "Have you tried Justin?"

Alex's heart leaped at the sound of his name, but it broke at the same time. She hadn't talked to him since that night and that was well over a year ago. She wanted so much to fix things but the following day when she woke up, he was already gone. When she tried calling him he never answered. He'd gone into early admission just to get away. Away from her. She missed him so much. He didn't come home for holidays or anything. When school let out, he stayed at Zeke's just to avoid going home. Her parents were devastated, but he called them almost every day to check in. She figured if he was going to ignore her then good riddance. At least, that's what she thought back then.

She realized she still hadn't answered Zeke.

"Zeke, you know I can't do that." She wished so much that she could, but it was far too late to fix anything.

"Alex, I know things haven't been the same since that night. Plus that other big fight you guys had when Mason was leaving. But he's your brother, do you honestly hate him?"

She couldn't believe what was happening. Zeke, her brother's weird, dorky friend and her best friend's boyfriend was trying to help her. "No Zeke, I could never hate him. He's my brother and I lo-lo-lov…Oh you know what I mean. But after that night, and that other fight, he hates me and I don't blame him."

"He could never hate you Alex. He was upset, yeah. But I think it was more because of Mason than you. I know he misses you Alex, he talks about you all the time."

Her heart broke more and her eyes watered. Justin meant so much to her, and she threw that away just because of some fight. She should have eased him into all of it, he had lost Juliet too. The only difference was that she was never coming back, even with a spell.

"Zeke, I-"

"Look Alex, just give him a call. Try to talk to him. His cell number is still the same as before he left, so you have the number."

Alex was bewildered, why would Zeke try so hard to help her. "Zeke? Why are you trying so hard to help me?"

Zeke let out a sigh before replying, "You mean so much to Harper, and I love her. You also mean a lot to Justin who's like a brother to me. So even without our saying so, we're connected. You're like a sister to me Alex, I don't want you to lose anyone because of some fight just like I know you don't."

_Connected? Sister? What kind of crap was this? Although he did kind of have a point. Maybe I should call Justin._

"Thank you Zeke. Maybe I will try Justin."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Thanks again."

"No problem Alex. Talk to you soon. Bye."

"Bye Zeke."

She thought for a minute, should she really call Justin? He probably wouldn't answer, and she would be too scared to leave a message. Then she thought of something. She could block her number, he'd probably answer. Might as well try.

So she blocked her number and hit the call button for Justin's number. Even after that fight and all this time, she still had him on speed dial.

It rang twice before it stopped, she thought he put her through to voicemail but then she heard him.

"Yello!" _'Gosh, what is with him and Zeke?'_

But hearing his voice, even just saying that one word, she froze. She lost all the nerve she had a minute ago. She couldn't even breathe.

"Hello?" He asked.

What the hell happened to her? Why couldn't she speak, one word was all she needed.

"Alex? Is that you?" That's when she hung up.

How could he possibly say that so sweetly? After she'd treated him so badly. Then Zeke's words popped into her head. _'He's your brother…He could never hate you.'_

She was about to call again, but her phone rang before she could. She freaked thinking it might have been him, but it wasn't. She knew this number for a different reason, so she answered not knowing what to think.

"Hello?"

"Ms. Russo? It's Captain Simmons, I'm Mason's platoon leader. I'm afraid I have some information for you."


	4. Chapter 3: Proposal

**(A/N: I added some stuff to Captain Simmons and Alex's phone to leave the possibility for me to bring him back if that's the direction I want to take this.)**

**Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended**

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"Ms. Russo, are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here. What's going on? Why are you calling me instead of Mason?"

"Ms. Russo, I'm very sorry. But we regret to inform you that he was killed in action. He designated you as the person to contact if something should happen to him."

"Killed? What!? How!?"

"I'm afraid we can't tell you all the details but we have found his dog tags and a body. The face is unrecognizable in its condition but it is the same height and build as Mason."

"Just his dog tags and being physically similar doesn't mean anything! He could've lost his dog tags near another body!" "We're doing everything we can to positively ID the body but as of right now we have to go off of how it looks. And how it looks is that Mason was killed. I know this is hard to absorb but we will do anything we can to help you. The Wizard Army will cover the cost of the funeral but all arrangements are your responsibility. Do you understand?"

"Yes, but what if it isn't him?"

"We'll bring him back and perform an autopsy. Just look into arrangement options for now, it might take a little while for us to get back to you. But Ms. Russo, it is highly unlikely that he just dropped his dog tags near a dead body that was missing dog tags."

"Alright."

"My phone is always on and my door is always open if you need anything."

"Yeah, thanks."

She hung up and dropped the phone on the couch seat next to her.

Mason was **dead**? This had to be a dream, it couldn't be real. They were **engaged**, everything was being planned. It had to be a mistake. Like she said, he had to of dropped his dog tags. He couldn't be dead.

Suddenly the ring on her finger felt heavy and she couldn't breathe. She thought back to the night he proposed, it was right before he left.

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Alex and Mason were lying on a chair out on the balcony just looking at the stars. Neither of them spoke, they just held each other and took in the beautiful scene. It would be the last time for a while that they would be able to do this. He was shipping off tomorrow with the Wizard Army to fight in the war and wouldn't be back for months.

"Mason?" Her voice quiet and timid, clearly showing she was worried.

"Yes Alex, my love."

"Are you scared?"

Mason thought for a minute, knowing she meant going to fight in the war. He didn't want her to worry, he wanted her to be happy until they would be together again. So he played dumb, "Scared of what darling?"

"Mason!" She bolted upright, still holding him. "You know what I'm talking about. Are you scared of going away? Of leaving? Of fighting in war? Aren't you scared we'll never see each other again?" Alex pulled away from Mason and started to cry. He was joking to try to make things easier, but he only seemed to have made them worse.

"Alex?" Mason said softly. But nothing, just more crying. "Alex?" Mason said a little louder. Still more crying. "Alex!?" That made her jump but she still didn't respond. He felt bad about yelling but he needed to get through to her.

He moved next to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Of course I'm scared love. Do you think I want to leave the most beautiful woman I have ever known?"

"It sure seems like you do." She answered harshly through her tears.

He took her face in his hands and made her look at him. "Alex. I love you, I need you. I don't want you to worry and be upset just because I'm gone. I shouldn't have treated it so lightly, or like a joke. I'm sorry."

She looked away so he couldn't see that more tears were coming, she never cried. Well, that's what she wanted people to think.

But Mason knew better, he took her hand in his and wiped her tears with his other. "Alex, I love you more than anything. I'll miss you, and I'll think about you every second I'm gone. Especially after this."

He kissed her softly and sweetly while pulling something out of his pocket. She couldn't see what it was. But he got down on one knee and she knew, so she started crying even more. The only difference was that these were happy tears.

"Alexandra Margarita Russo," he had the biggest smile on his face "Will you marry me?"

More tears. "Yes Mason! Of course I'll marry you!" Alex replied, still sounding extremely enthusiastic through all the tears.

He stood up and gathered her into his arms, spinning her around, for a deep kiss.

When they were both out of breath, he gently put her back on her feet and slid the ring on her finger. She cried again but was giggling the whole time and he knew they were tears of joy. Mason cried too, praying that nothing would happen when he left so he could come back to her.

Once they'd calmed down, they started talking about when they would make the big announcement. They didn't know they'd already told someone.

Justin had been watching them the whole time.


	5. Chapter 4: Engaged

**Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended.**

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**Justin's POV:**

He ran up the stairs as fast as he could, earning a look from his mother and father wondering what was going on. When he got to his room, he slammed the door shut behind him and rested his back against it. Then he slowly slid to the floor, crying like a baby.

_**'Engaged!? **__Alex and Mason are __**engaged!? **__They're only 19 for Christ's sake! _

_Why doesn't Alex ever think about anything? What if he gets killed? What if something happens while he's gone and he doesn't want her anymore? _

_Why do they even wanna get married? There's a high chance he won't come back. And then there's all those statistics about young marriages never working which for some reason all escape me now._

_This was all stupid Mason's fault. He was the one who decided not to get an education and join the Army. He should've just left Alex alone after that. Hell, he should've never gotten involved with Alex in the first place considering he's a werewolf!'_

He shouldn't have come home. He should have stayed at school or with Zeke. But his mother begged him; she wanted everyone to be together one last time before Mason had to leave. Why he needed to be there was beyond him. Why was it a big deal that Mason was leaving? Justin hated Mason. In more ways than one._ 'Alex gave up her powers just to be with this guy, you'd think my parents would be upset by that.'_ Sure Alex always got into trouble when it came to magic but still, she was getting better when she started disciplining herself.

Now they're engaged and he has to sit here and act like nothing is wrong. _'It's probably for the best though; if she's with someone maybe I can get these thoughts of her out of my head.'_ He shouldn't even be having these thoughts. _She's my sister for crying out loud!_ He couldn't even tell you how long he'd been having these feelings; it'd been so long that he couldn't remember. If he had to try though, he thought it may have started that night at the museum where Juliet was taken by the mummy. Alex was the only one there to help him.

He should've told her how he felt. Sure she would've thought it was weird but she's always looking for a new way to break the rules. He could tell her now, maybe then she'll finally cast the mutt aside. _'But it's still not right; she'll probably think I'm sick or mental.'_ He couldn't have her think of him that way. And he just couldn't do that to her. It would be selfish.

She's with Mason; she's happy and taken care of. He can't ruin that for her, she's been hurt so many times before and this time it looks like it'll be for the long-haul. He refused to take that away from her, no matter what pain it caused him.

"Justin! Max!" Mom called upstairs. "Can you come down here? Your sister has something she wants to share with you two!"

Justin heard her go back to Alex and started squealing like a school girl. He guessed she'd already told their parents. He hadn't heard any yelling so he figured their dad was ok with it too. That meant there was no way that this wasn't going to happen.

_'Well, I guess it's time to go face this.'_


	6. Chapter 5: Announcements and Arguments

**Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended.**

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**Alex's POV:**

Mason hadn't let go of her since he proposed. His hand was always on her back, her shoulder, or holding her hand. Not that she was complaining but it kind of worried her.

_'It's like he thinks now that he proposed something's going to happen and I'm going to leave. Why would I leave? We live together and now we're engaged.'_

She decided to worry about that later. She needed to talk to Justin and Max about this. That is, if Justin even cared.

Max came down first, looking like he'd just woken up from a nap. It took Justin a little longer, but not much. It was the first time he was willingly in a room with her since Mason was back. She couldn't help but stare, he looked so different.

He wasn't the dork she'd known from so long ago. His hair had gotten longer, not too long like some weird rocker but long enough that he had to sweep it out of his eyes every so often. He had muscles before but they were more defined now. All of his shirts fit him in a way now that they showed off his muscles. Sometimes she worried that his shirts would rip completely.

It made her think of before when she found herself staring at, thinking of, or worrying about Justin for no reason. She eventually figured out that she was having feelings for him that she shouldn't. That was right around the time that Mason first showed up. So Mason was actually an escape for her. He was her way to not think about Justin that way, especially with how he felt about Juliet then. She never knew that she would end up loving Mason. She knew she loved Justin more, she always would. But that was just something that couldn't happen.

_'Stop it Alex! You're with Mason, you're engaged to Mason. And now you have to tell the boy you really love that you're marrying someone else.'_

"What's going on?" Max asked looking at Theresa.

"Your sister has some amazing news and I know you two are going to be so happy for her." Theresa answered and then gave Justin a look. She couldn't quite figure out what it was though. But Justin was just sitting there staring at his shoes waiting for her to speak.

"Well," she started. "It's actually not just my news. It's mine and Mason's news." She looked at Max and then Justin. She wanted to make sure they were both looking at her. But only one was. "Justin?" She quietly asked. He slowly looked at her and gave a half smile, urging her to go on.

She looked at Max and then back to him so she could look him in the eye. If she could look him in the eye and tell him this without crying, then she knew she was doing the right thing. "Mason and I are engaged," she held up her left hand. "We're getting married."

Max jumped up yelling congratulations before giving her a big hug and clapping Mason on the back. She hadn't taken her eyes off of Justin yet. He was just smiling, not speaking yet. She couldn't figure out if he was in shock or something else. She was about to ask if he was alright when he got up and walked over. He stopped right in front of her and looked down.

"Justi-" She started but he picked her up and spun her around. It was the first time he'd done anything remotely brotherly to her in months.

"Eek! Justin!" She squealed since he was still spinning her.

He put her down but kept his arms around her, she felt like she couldn't breathe. He pulled her into a hug and rested his head on top of hers. She started tearing up, she was so happy that she had her brother back. "Congratulations Alex," he said into her hair before kissing her head.

For the first time in a while, she was happy like she had been before. It was amazing.

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**Later That Night**

Alex was in the kitchen eating some ice cream, just staring at her ring. She couldn't believe she was engaged. She had called Harper to tell her. Harper was a little upset that it happened when she wasn't there but was happy for her all the same. She said they'd have to start planning a bachelorette party and she could make her a veil. Alex had cringed but she was happy all the same. She heard someone coming down the stairs. It was after midnight so she wondered who could be awake. When she turned around she saw it was Justin.

"Oh good, I was hoping you were still awake." Justin said coming over and handing her a huge stack of papers. _'What could he possibly want? And what the heck was with the stack of papers?'_

"Uh, Justin?" He turned around from the cupboard, probably getting tea to make. "What is this?"

"Statistics on teen marriage, how many people die in war and some other stuff relevant to your situation." He told her as he was getting a cup of tea ready.

"What!? I thought you were happy for me!."

"I am happy for you. I just think you should go into this knowing all the information you should."

"No you're not! This is your way of brainwashing me into not going through with this. Why don't you want to go through with this?"

"I do want you to go through with this. I just want you to know what kind of odds you have of getting hurt. He hurt you once before and I'll be damned if I let it happen again."

"Did you just say damned? Never mind, what the hell is your problem!? You don't talk to me since he comes back and now all this! You haven't been a brother for a year; one sappy brother moment doesn't make up for everything! You never liked Mason and I couldn't figure out why! But you were happy for me and now you're acting like this! What the hell are you trying to pull!?"

"Alex, lower your voice everyone is asleep. Just relax and calm down. I don't have any ulterior motives with this, I'm just trying to help."

"Well your idea of helping sucks! Do you not want me to do this because then I'll be happy and you still won't have Juliet!? Or is there something else!? Some weird explanation like you're in love with me or something!?"

Justin didn't say anything, he was just staring at the floor. She thought for a second trying to remember what she'd just said. Then it hit her.

"Oh my God, Justin." She didn't know what to think. The possibility that he felt the same way about her that she'd been feeling about him for so long, it made her head spin. She was about to tell him how she felt when he exploded.

"Fine!" He threw the cup in sink, smashing it. "Forget I tried to help! Forget that I felt bad about what happened and was trying to make up for it by worrying about my sister! Oh wait, according to you I'm not a brother! Does that mean Max too or is it just you!? I don't know why I even tired! You're never happy, you always find something wrong with everything!"

"Justin?" What happened? She knew she yelled at him but that had always been their thing. She thought things were back to normal despite the months of hiatus.

"You know what!? I give up! Don't bother sending my invite to the big day because I'm not going!"

He swept his arm across the counter and knocked everything onto the floor and stormed upstairs.

That was the last time she spoke to or even saw Justin. Only now was it really dawning on her that he was right and she was acting like a brat and an idiot. She missed him, and she really needed him right now. _'And I'll be damned if I let me acting like a child kept me from calling him!'_


	7. Chapter 6: More Phone Calls

**Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended.**

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"**And I'll be damned if I let me acting like a child kept me from calling him!"**

**Alex POV**

Just as she was about to call Justin, her phone went off in her hand. It was Harper returning her call. She was debating whether or not to answer since she really wanted to call Justin. She decided she'd better answer because Harper would just keep calling until she did.

"Hello?"

"Alex!?" Harper screamed into the phone as she yanked it away from her ear. She was talking a mile a minute, and loudly! "I'm so sorry I wasn't here when you called. Zeke said you called and sounded a little depressed. Are you ok? Are you worried about Mason? Did he-"

As soon as she said Mason's name she lost it. She started crying and couldn't stop. She needed Justin. He'd be here in no time telling her how strong she was and that she'd get through this. That he'd help her. Take care of her.

"Harper, I have to go. I'll call you back in a bit."

"But Alex?" She hung up the phone before she had to say anything else. She loved Harper but she needed to talk to Justin first.

She scanned through her contacts list and found Justin's number. She never had the heart to delete it after everything. She never really thought about why he'd never changed it even after everything.

She pushed the call button but quickly hung back up after the first ring. She tried again and did the same thing. This went on for about 5 minutes, ringing a little longer each time.

Finally, after about 10 tries she hit the call button and put the phone to her ear.

* * *

**Justin POV**

_'What the hell was going on?'_ His phone kept ringing and then hanging up before he could even get to it to answer.

It was like the person calling was playing a game. It would ring, disconnect, call back and ring a little longer then disconnect again. One of the longer times it rang he thought the caller ID flashed Alex but he had pushed the thought aside when he scanned through the recent calls and couldn't find it.

Then he started to think maybe it had been Alex, calling to mess with him. Zeke had called a little while ago saying Alex had called him looking for Harper. He said that he had talked to Alex and she was thinking about calling him. But why, Alex hated him? She was too in love with her precious mutt to even bother with him anymore.

While he was mulling this all over the phone rang again but quickly stopped.

_'ARGH!'_ He looked at the clock and realized this had been going for about 5 minutes. _'That's it! Phone is going off.'_

He stomped over to the table and grabbed his phone, just about to turn it off when it rang again. He stared dumbfounded at the screen when it flashed Alex's name. He answered, ready to yell at her for messing with him by calling so many times and hanging up.

But as soon as he picked up the phone and was about to explode, he heard sniffling on the other end of the line.

"Justin?" She sounded so sad, so broken. He could tell from her voice she'd been crying. He wanted so much to just make her feel better, but then remembered everything with Mason and what just happened.

"What do you want Alex? I thought you didn't want me in your life anymore because I didn't like Mason?" It was harsh but he needed to say it. He'd had it bottled up too long. "That's why you never talked to me after he came back." He knew this was a lie. She tried calling him all the time after that night and he just wouldn't answer. She didn't call him after how he acted with her and Mason's engagement but he couldn't blame her. But right now he was just too angry. She was probably calling to tell me that the mutt broke up with her. He doesn't like saying 'I told you so' but if he could when it came to Mason he was going to. "You hated me just because I didn't like that scroungy-"

"Justin!" She yelled, surprising him. He thought he had actually jumped.

"What!?" He yelled, thinking of everything else he wanted to add.

"He's dead." She said simply. He could hear her crying on the other end. He lost all of his resolve to yell at her.

"What?" He asked, his voice gentle. She was crying too much to say anything.

"Alex, hun, calm down. Tell me what happened so I can help you."

It took a few minutes but her crying finally stopped, although she was still sniffling a bit. "Mason's dead. I got a call from one of his superiors saying that he died in action. They found a body and his dog tags."

"Where are you now?" He asked, grabbing his jacket and wand. He didn't care how he felt about using magic for selfish things which hadn't changed since he had become the family wizard. She needed him and he needed to see her.

"I'm at home right now. But why do you need to-"

He flashed in and ended up right behind her. She was standing behind the couch, leaning on it for support.

"Alex," He said resting his hand on her shoulder.


	8. Chapter 7: Reunions and Memories

**(A/N: Yay! New chapter finally. I had most of it on my computer but never posted it. I was gonna end it sooner than I did but the last part kinda just flew out. I really think you guys are gonna love this chapter.)**

**Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended**

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"**Alex" He said resting his hand on her shoulder.**

**Justin POV**

"AAHH!" She screamed. She jumped and turned around, raising her hand to hit him. _'I guess she thought I was some attacker.'_ She saw him and froze, her hand still in the air.

"Justin?" She asked softly, tears in her eyes. She reached forward gently touching his arm making sure he was really there.

Once her hand made contact with his arm, she gasped and looked right into his eyes. He looked down and gave her a small smile.

Her eyes were tearing up more, she grabbed the arm that her hand was on and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. As soon as his arms were around her, she buried her head into his shoulder and let the flood gates open.

He was reaching his hand up to stroke her hair when she broke away and shoved him. He looked at her stunned. She was still crying.

"You jerk!" He was amazed she could look so angry and still be crying. "You scared the crap out of me! Why the hell would you flash in like that and not make any noise!? How am I supposed to know you're not some-"

He walked back over and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. She just kept crying, her back heaving up and down with the sobs that were raking through her body. He reached up and stroked her hair, whispering soothing nothings in her ear to calm her down.

He didn't know how long they stood like that; it felt like hours but was really only a few minutes._ 'This is not how I imagined seeing her again would be.'_

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**Alex POV**

_'I can't believe this. The first time I see Justin in what feels like ages and I'm blubbering like an idiot.'_ She gave him credit though, he just let her cry. After a while he picked her up and carried her to the couch before sitting down and pulling her onto his lap. He hadn't done that since she was little. Like when she was learning how to ride a bike and fell and scraped her knee.

_Flashback_

"_Justin! It hurts!" Alex yelled as Justin placed her on the sink in the bathroom. He wasn't much older than her but he was already a lot taller and could carry her easily. Which is exactly what he did when she fell off her bike and hurt her knee._

"_I know Lexi. Just hold still, ok?" Justin said soothingly as he got the first aid kit. Alex thought about jumping off the sink and running away, knowing how much more her knee was about to hurt. But Justin stopped her before she even had a chance to try._

"_Don't even think about it Lexi." He knew her better than anyone else and knew she would try to run rather than let him fix her knee._

_Alex was playing innocent and giving him the puppy eyes. "Don't think about what?"_

"_Running away before I can take care of your knee." Her eyes widened in shock before she dropped her head, knowing she was defeated._

_Then her head shot up. "Fine! But don't yell at me if I kick you."_

"_Haha! Ok Lexi, it'll be ok." He dabbed her knee with alcohol to clean it. She jerked her knee away and looked at Justin like he'd just slapped her._

"_I'm sorry Lexi. Look, I have to clean it, it might get really bad and mommy will have to take you to the hospital." Tears started welling up in Alex's eyes. "You have to let me clean it or they'll take you away from me."_

_Alex put her leg back down. Justin knew this would work; Alex hated being away from Justin. He started cleaning her knee again, he looked up at her but she turned her head away. He knew she was crying. He hated seeing her cry. _

_So he quickly cleaned and bandaged her knee. Then he picked her up and carried her to the couch in the living room. Sitting down and putting her on his lap. He stroked her hair and whispered in her ear that it was all over._

_What Justin didn't realize is that Alex wasn't crying because of her knee, she was crying because now she was thinking about what would happen when Justin wouldn't be there._

After thinking of that she realized that she wasn't crying because of Mason but because of her and Justin. They were so close when they were little. Alex had hated being away from Justin, even if it meant having to go to the stupid library. She tried to think when that all changed, when she started picking on Justin rather than loving him more than anything. Then she remembered. One day when they were little Alex and Justin were at the park with their family. Max had fell and Theresa told Alex to find Justin because they were going home. She found Justin near the swings talking to a girl. Alex was about to run over and tell Justin they had to leave when the girl leaned towards Justin and kissed him on the cheek. Justin just stood there while the girl giggled and ran away. Alex walked over to Justin, hit him in the shoulder and told him they had to go home. Picking fights with Justin and pranking him became their thing. Though he longed for how things were before he was just happy that Alex still cared enough to do something to him.

After a while she finally calmed down but Justin still hadn't let her go. She pulled back and actually looked at him for the first time in what felt like forever. His hair was a little shorter than the last time she'd seen him but was still pretty long. It also looked disheveled, like he'd been sleeping when she called him. His eyes were still that beautiful blue gray they'd always been but there was a look in his eyes that she couldn't exactly figure out.

She couldn't help it; she reached up and cradled his cheek in her hand. Remembering how soft his skin was. She'd have to remember to pick on him later for being a guy who moisturizes like a girl. But for now, she was just happy that he was here and didn't want to ruin it. Even after everything that happened and the way she acted he was still her big brother and would do anything to protect her. Even from things that he had no control over.

It was why she loved him, much more than she should. She could never tell him, it would ruin everything. She just got him back; she'd rather deal with the pain of hiding her feelings than the pain of losing Justin again.

Justin was just staring at her like he hadn't seen her in years even though it was only a few weeks. Mason used to look at her that way but it was never the same. Mason. Justin was about to say something but Alex burst into tears again and threw herself against Justin's chest. Comparing Justin to Mason was wrong, especially right now. Especially since it would only break her heart. She knew that Mason loved her and Justin never could. She loved him in spite of it though. She wished he did and could love her, but that was just something she'd have to keep in her dreams.

She could never truly have him so she settled for clinging to him. Right here, right now.

"Alex. Alex, come on." Justin was trying to pry her off of him so he could talk to her face rather than the top of her head but she wasn't budging. "Alex, you're not alone to deal with this. I'm not going anywhere, whether you want me to or not."

This seemed to only make her cry more. "Alex, what did I do?"

Alex sniffled and sat up to look at him. "Nothing. I'm so sorry Justin, for everything. For what happened with Juliet. For bringing Mason back and rubbing your nose in it. For saying I hated you. For that stupid fight when me and Mason got engaged. Just everything. I've been a brat and I'm so, so sorry."

Justin was speechless. Alex was actually apologizing. Not only that but apologizing to him. When he finally found his words all he could manage was "It's ok, Lexi."

Alex somehow felt her heart stop and beat faster all at the same time. He hadn't called her Lexi since they were little, before all the pranking and fighting.

Maybe it was having Justin back. Maybe it was finally making up from that. Maybe it was the fact that he could still call her Lexi after everything they've been through. But Alex couldn't stop herself from what she did next.

She grabbed Justin's face, pulled it towards hers, and kissed him.

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**(A/N: FINALLY! Lol. Sorry to say you're probably not gonna like me after this. I'm not sure when I'll be putting the next chapter up. I have an idea what I wanna do with it but need to work on getting it there. I will work on it though I promise. Also, I might be upping the rating on this. I'm not very good with lemons but I'll give it a try if it feels right.)**


	9. Chapter 8: Dreams Coming True

**(A/N: Hey guys, I know this note is long but bear with me. So here's the next chapter of Healing Wounds. I'm gonna say right now you might not like me after reading it. I also want to address a review I got where someone said to bring Mason back from the dead. I'm not going to confirm or deny that he'll come back. I'm still figuring out where I want the story to go. I will however say that if I do bring him back, which I'm not saying for certain I will or won't, him and Alex won't end up together. I also went back and re-edited the earlier chapters again. I changed the point of view so it's third person now. I realized that was the biggest problem I was having when thinking of the new stuff. As I explained in the new re-edit, anything in italics is a thought and POVs are simply to stop confusion about who's thoughts they are. With that being said I hope you like the chapter)**

**Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended**

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**She grabbed Justin's face, pulled it towards hers, and kissed him.**

**Justin POV**

His eyes widened. Was this real or had she knocked him out? His arms were still wrapped around her so he pinched himself_. 'Yup, felt that.' _So this was definitely real, he just couldn't figure out why. Why was Alex kissing him? Why did it feel so natural, like they had done it a million times before? Why was she holding his face so tenderly and kissing him so gently like she loved him? But more importantly, why was he sitting here trying to analyze it instead of kissing her back like he'd always dreamed?

He pushed all his doubts and worries aside and tightened his arms around her. He started kissing her back. When she didn't pull away, he leaned further into the kiss and put all his pent up feelings in it. When they pulled away, they just looked into each other's eyes, breathing heavily. Alex let go of his face and put her hands in her lap, which was kinda hard since Justin was still holding her on his. She looked like she was going to say something but he cut her off before she had the chance.

He slammed his mouth into hers, making her gasp. He worried for a second that he might have hurt her but then her mouth was moving in sync with his. He couldn't believe it. After all this time, after all his longing for her and hiding his feelings he was kissing her and she was actually kissing him back. She had moved her hands from her lap and had them on his chest. She started pushing him back into the couch, trying to take control of the kiss but he wasn't having any of it.

In one swift move, without even breaking the kiss, he laid her down on the couch before laying himself over her. He held both her wrists in his hands above her head. She must not have minded that arrangement since she wasn't fighting him on it. The first kiss was timid and gentle but this one, this one was all fire and heat. He wondered if Alex wanted to explore his body as much as she wanted to explore hers.

Slowly he let go of her wrists before bringing his hands down to cup her face. Once her hands were free they went right to Justin's hair, he was thankful that he'd stopped putting all that crap in his hair. Her fingers glided through his hair before her hands fisted in his shirt. She kept pawing and pulling at it, trying to get it untucked from his pants. She started unbuttoning it and gave a grunt when she got annoyed that they wouldn't come undone. Normally he loved his shirts but not in this situation. He stopped kissing her so he could get the shirt off himself and she whined her disapproval. **Alex** had actually whined because **he **had stopped kissing her. He got the shirt open and was about to take it off when Alex pulled him back down to her. She brought his lips back to hers and started running her hands up and down his torso. He was glad that he'd gotten a lot more fit than he used to be. He's wasn't a spindly teen anymore but was fairly buff. Apparently Alex was glad of this change too. She started running her hands over his shoulders and down his arms, pushing the shirt sleeves as she went.

Justin lightly bit her lip before sitting up to take his shirt off completely. He leaned back down and started kissing her neck, alternating between sucking and nipping. Alex was moaning and pushing herself up into him, no doubt feeling the erection he was getting from all this. Alex was wearing a button up dress. Justin undid the first two buttons and slipped his hand in and found Alex wasn't wearing a bra. He started rubbing her breast making her gasp from the sudden contact before she eased into whimpering. He pulled his hand out of Alex's dress, making her huff in annoyance. He hovered over Alex, smiling, before leaning back down and kissing her. He broke away and started kissing the other side of her neck. Alex's eyes were closed and her breathing was ragged, almost gasping. Her hands were on his back, trying to pull him closer even though there was no further to pull. Justin smiled against her neck. He felt like all his dreams were coming true.

He moved the hand he had on the side of her neck that he wasn't kissing and started running it down the side of Alex's body. He got to the hem of her dress, he slipped his hand underneath. He lightly brushed his fingers on the outer part of her thigh, still under her dress, going upward. He reached the top of her underwear and hooked his fingers into the top. Just as he was about to pull them down, Alex gasped and sat up. She looked down at herself and then at Justin. Her eyes teared up and she starting pushing at Justin's to get him off of her. He grabbed her arms.

"Alex, what's wrong? Did I do something you didn't want me to?"

"Get off me, just get off me Justin." Justin let go of her and slid off top of her. Alex shot up and ran down the hall, into a room, and slammed the door shut. He could hear her crying.

Justin stood, sighed, and leaned down to pick up his shirt. "Nice move Justin. Your sister probably thinks you're a pervert now." He put his shirt back on and waited a few minutes, she still hadn't come out and he could still hear her crying. He walked down the hall to room she ran into. He lightly knocked before trying the doorknob, it was locked.

"Lexi, open up." He said quietly. He didn't hear any movement, just more crying. "Come on Lexi, we need to talk. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." For some reason this made her cry more. He turned and leaned against the door before sliding down along it. He made a sharp exhale before rubbing his face with his hands. This had turned into a disaster.

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**(A/N: Please don't hate me after that ending. If it makes you feel any better, I teared up while writing it and I'm the one making it happen. My internet got cut off or I would've put this up a few days ago. The good thing though is that gave me a chance to get a head start on the next chapter. So that will definitely be up within the next few days.)**


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